Participating in the Twelve Courts of Christmas and having a chance to take on a top-tier, out-of-state opponent in Bellevue West (7-0) from Nebraska, the Park Hill boys’ basketball team (3-4) were defeated 77-53 at Hy-Vee Arena on Dec. 20.
Park Hill junior Akoi Akoi scored seven points when he made all three of his shot attempts in the Trojans 77-53 loss on Dec. 20 at Hy-Vee Arena.
Taking on an undefeated squad who was the 2022 Class A Runners-Up – which is the largest class in the state of Nebraska – the Trojans had a tough task when taking on the Thunderbirds. Park Hill kept the game within reaching distance at first, being as close as 14-11 with right under a minute left in the opening frame.
Following a pair of free throws by Marqueas Bell with 55 seconds left in the first quarter, the Thunderbirds rattled off 11 straight points – which included three shots from behind the arc – until the Park Hill senior knocked down an elbow jumper with 6:03 left in the half. With less than four minutes left in the frame, Gavin Schaag converted on a driving floater and Desire Tonye-Nyemeck scored on a fast break layup after Ty Schreck came up with a steal and assist on the play, but Bellevue West pushed the lead to 37-17 with 1:59 remaining.
Schaag split a pair of free throws and Bell drove down the left baseline and converted on a layup to chip at the deficit late in the first half. The Thunderbirds knocked down another trey right before the buzzer to go up 42-20 at the break.
The Trojans were unable to make much more of a dent towards the margin in the second half, getting outscored by two points in the final 16 minutes and falling short to a Bellevue West team that made it to the Nebraska Class A State Championship last year. Since 2018, the Thunderbirds have been one of the final four teams standing each year in Class A, being the runner-up twice and winning it all in 2020 and 2021.
Bell led the Trojans’ offense with 19 points, making seven of his 13 shots along with eight rebounds and three assists. Akoi Akoi made all three shot attempts for seven points, while Schaag and Cameron Jones both had six points.
Park Hill will be back at it in the Patterson Division of the 43rd Annual William Jewell High School Holiday Classic. The Trojans will open tournament play with a matchup with St. Pius X (0-5) on Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m.